Chrysostomos L. Max Nikias may be new to the USC presidential office, but he’s certainly not new to this 34,000-student university in Los Angeles.
C.L. Nikias joined USC’s faculty in 1991 at the Viterbi School of Engineering, and served as dean there from 2001-2005. During his Viterbi tenure, he pioneered research on digital signal processing and communications, digital media systems and biomedicine, according to the USC website.
USG President Holden Slusher talks to ATVN's Tina Mather about the new USC president.
In 2005 USC promoted him to the position of executive vice president and provost of the school, a position that entails being the chief academic officer. During his time he oversaw a vast academic community, consisting of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Keck School of Medicine, and 16 professional schools, as well as the divisions of Student Affairs, Libraries, Information Technology Services, Student Religious Life, and Enrollment Services.
USC spokesman James Grant talks to ATVN’s Tina Mather about the process of selecting a new president.
He currently holds the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in Technology and the Humanities.
Nikias is originally from Cyprus and graduated with honors from the Famagusta Gymnasium, a school that emphasized sciences, history, and Greco-Roman classics. He earned a diploma from the National Technical University of Athens, the oldest and most prestigious higher education institution of Greece, according to the USC website. Nikias then went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. The University of Cyprus awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Nikias has a daughter Maria Nikias, who is a junior at USC. She says he loves bike rides, which he enjoys on Sundays from their Palos Verdes home.
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